CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Region 7 has registered a total of 4,753,563 voters eligible to vote in the upcoming Local and National Elections (NLE) in Central Visayas.
This was reported by Comelec 7 assistant regional election director Atty. Veronico G. Petalcorin during the 23rd episode of the ‘Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas’ program on Nov. 5.
Cebu leads the region with 3,702,363 registered voters and 9,443 clustered precincts, while there are 1,051,200 registered voters and 3,069 clustered precincts in Bohol.
Cebu has seen a significant increase in its number of voters compared to the previous years, which Petalcorin attributed to both natural population growth and migration due to employment opportunities.
“Aduna ta’y gi expect nga natural growth sa mga botante kay naa may mamatay, naa poy natawo. Daghan pa man ang natawo kaysa namatay. Naa pud mga migrant tungod sa pagpanarbaho,” he said.
(We have expected to have natural growth of voters because some people die, some are born. There are more births than deaths. There are also migrants due to employment.)
Petalcorin reported that from Oct. 1 to 8, a total of 2,401 individuals in Central Visayas have filed for Certificates of Candidacy (COC).
Of the total, 1,265 are from Cebu (993 for male and 272 for female) and 1,136 are from Bohol (859 for male and 277 for female) who are aspiring for various electoral positions.
Register Anywhere Program
Petalcorin also highlighted their different initiatives to enhance voter registration accessibility, including the use of satellite registrations and the Register Anywhere Program (RAP).
In the first half of 2024, a total of 841 satellite registrations in Cebu were conducted and 455 in Bohol.
RAP, which allows voters to register in various convenient locations, processed 2,851 individuals in Cebu and 108 in Bohol.
For issuance of voter certification, a total of 71,215 were distributed in Cebu and 19,145 in Bohol.
Comelec also held a series of information campaigns to empower the vulnerable sectors to participate in the electoral process.
Petalcorin expressed confidence that the region is on track to meet its preparation goals for the upcoming polls, with 98 percent of their quota already achieved.
“Sa tanang timeline nato nga preparation, nakameet ta sa atoang expected nga mga activity sa timeline,” he said.
(In the timeline of our preparations, we have met our expected number of activities.) (MSH/PIA7)
